Sing Me a Lullaby
by RapunzelInTheSnow
Summary: Eridan was with the horrorterrors in the dreambubbles, and was ripped away from them when the game ended. Now, on a strange mix of Alternia and Earth, Dirk finds him. How badly did those things mess him up? (Will post on my AO3 account as well)
1. I Come To You in Pieces

Have you ever felt frozen by your own personality? Like you've been trapped in your own past, wrapped tight like spider silk and left to rot by your past and future selves?

Eridan was always cold.

Always staying under the water and away from everything he could since the game restarted, not bothering to treat the cuts and bites the lusii of the new world's ocean gave him. He had broken the gun in his sylladex over his knee when he had realised the game had restarted. He wanted nothing to do with what he had done. He wanted to shed it, but it clung stickily to him and made him feel uneasy in his own skin.

Why should he interact with them? Why give himself over to what everyone wanted to do to him? He'd had some pretty nasty things happen in the dreambubbles. He'd found a giant nest of writhing monstrosities. He didn't think he would be able to find them again, but they had kept him close for over a year whilst he was there, telling him what would happen when the others found him, that he was only lovable by them. He'd been ripped from their grasp when the game ended, but they sung so prettily and the echoes still bounced from the inside of his skull. If he let himself drift, he could hear them more clearly, and he didn't miss them so achingly, and it was while drifting and listening that he bumped into the flat rock connected to a part of the mainland on which someone was sitting.

"Shit, dude!" Hands pulled at him, and he let them drag him. That was what happened with those he missed, the bone white and shadow grey _things_ who had held him and loved him like no one else had or would, as they said themselves.

"Are you alive? Are you even fucking alive..." Pale hands waved in front of his eyes and he blinked slowly, unmoving as he was dragged onto

"...Okay, you're alive. Okay. What the fuck is up with you, man?" Someone was bending over him, so pale. Like one of them. One of them who he had missed so much.

"...sing..." He caught one of the hands with his own. "...sing for me...I missed your kind..."

"Dude. Do I like like an MP3 to you? The fuck do you mean?" Whoever it was slid a hand under his back, and sat him up.

Eridan shivered and felt his eyes sting. They weren't going to sing? He opened his mouth and began to sing one of the melodies he could remember, swooping up and down like a hymn.

The reaction was instant. The person leapt backwards, swearing and shaking, and Eridan fell sideways, still trying to sing the tune. No, this person wasn't one of them, was he? He couldn't tell. Maybe he had forgotten the song? Maybe Eridan was singing it wrong?

They suddenly held him tight, picking him up and pressing a hand against his mouth. He blinked and they pressed his head into their shoulder, whispering at him to be quiet, and he stilled, relaxing into them.

Of all the things that Karkat had expected, Dirk Strider at his door was not very high on the list. After all, Dirk was Dave's older brother, but they didn't usually meet up.

Dirk holding an almost half dead, shivering and drenched Eridan in his arms like he was cradling a newly pupated wiggler wasn't exactly at the top of the list. He stared at Eridan and then back at Dirk before Dirk pushed past him.

"I know the shit everyone did, Karkat. I know what they did but seriously, what the fuck. What the fuck is wrong with you that you didn't think to check on him." Dirk cradled Eridan as he gently put him down on the sofa.

"I don't even know what the fuck you're babbling about, Strider, and if you don't explain quickly, so help me-"

Dirk looked up and took off his glasses. "Shut the fuck up. Get me a first aid kit, and seriously listen when I tell you to." Eridan was clinging to him, not saying anything with a strange expression on his face as Dirk ran a hand gently through his hair.

"S'alright. You're okay. You'll be fine here..." Dirk had an odd way when he spoke to Eridan, a way that went up and down in tone. Eridan relaxed, and Dirk sat next to him on the sofa, always keeping a hand on his hair or face or shoulder, keeping contact.

Were they pale? No, Dirk had a moirail in Roxy. Karkat fetched the huge box he had in the nutrition block and frowned as he set it down.

"What the fuck is going on, and why does Eridan look like he's been through a meat grinder?" He peered at him and handed some antiseptic wipes, and Dirk began gently wiping at some oozing scratches and what looked suspiciously like bites from something large.

"Eridan, huh... Thought he looked familiar. So, okay. Before I tell you anything about that, I need you to listen to Eridan. Alright?" Dirk stared at him through narrowed eyes, and Karkat rolled his eyes.

"Fine, my auditory clots are open for business. In the event of pranking or bullshittery, they will shut down permanently and the largest-"

"Eridan...can you sing for me?" Dirk took Eridan's hand and Eridan cleared his throat, and began to make a little sound in the back of his throat, and a familiar tune poured out.

Oh, fuck. Karkat clasped his hands over his ears and backed away. Horrorterrors. Horrorterrors and their soft, creepy singing and oh, fuck where had Eridan learnt to sing it? Was that Eridan or a horrorterror? He felt his mind spin, and found his wrist caught by Dirk, and his scythe in his hand. He stared at it, wild eyed before turning to Dirk, while Eridan kept singing softly, dragging his breath to mimic the weird noise the horrorterrors were known to make midway through song.

"He's not Eridan. That isn't Eridan. I don't know how the fuck it got here, but that is a fucking horrorterror."

Dirk shook his head. "No. That's Eridan. That is Eridan, and you either deal with it, or I do by myself." He covered Eridan's mouth and Eridan fell silent.

"H-How...What...what even..." Karkat could feel himself shaking and Dirk let his wrist go, picking his shades up from the arm of the sofa and turning them over in his hands.

"First thing he asked me to do when I grabbed him was sing for him. To sing for him. That he'd missed me and others like me." He looked up again. "Don't pretend that you don't know what that means."

Karkat sat down where he was, staring up at Eridan.

"I..." He felt like someone had punched his heart from his chest. "You mean..."

"I mean he thought I was a horrorterror, from the looks of things. He's been with them, who knows for how long. They've been singing to him." Dirk looked at Eridan, moving his hand away from his mouth. "And they fucked up his brain, because he sure as hell doesn't sound like the person I heard about."


	2. I've Lost So Much Along the Way

Karkat didn't know how to feel about this. Eridan was sat looking at him with almost dead eyes, blinking at him with almost recognition. Dirk had his arms around him, in a strange grip that reminded Karkat of the one time he had seen Feferi with her lusus.

"The horrorterrors once caught alternate Roxy in the dreambubbles, and I decided to go rescue her. They don't see anything wrong with keeping hold of people. They think it takes care of them." Dirk sighed. "When I found Roxy, she didn't recognise me, and wouldn't speak. The horrorterrors tried to keep me there as well. They started singing and it sounds terrifying, but then you get used to it. I was there for two hours trying to keep myself from going insane while trying to free Roxy. That Roxy was unlike any other Roxy I ever met afterwards, although I didn't meet many. She didn't talk, but she just stayed wherever you told her to and changed every bubble she entered into an exact replica of where she had been. It was horrible to watch. She'd only been there a week, but whenever I asked for her, they told me the same thing. That she never spoke, and would hit or shoot at you if you spoke near her above a whisper."

"The songs they sing fuck you up in the head. When he began singing I could see them again, but it shows how long he was there. Roxy could manage a few notes of the song, and then she would curl up and not look at anything for days. Kurloz would keep an eye on her when I woke up, as he wouldn't set her off. Eridan can try and sing like them, and that fucking scares the shit out of me because my moirail in an alternate timeline was fucked up by them by staying a week. It isn't even what they sing. It's when they talk to you in whispers, and it's the worst of truths that you lie to yourself about. And God forbid that you actually start listening to them, or believe it when they put negative spins on the shit that keeps you awake at night thinking the world would be better without you. And then they tell you that they love you, and it sounds so genuine, and maybe they do." Dirk looked up at Karkat. "Doesn't matter if they do. Love can be like petrol on a fucking fire. It destroys shit like nothing else. He's still talking, which is a plus and a bad thing all by itself."

Karkat shuddered, imagining his own stupid moirail in the clutches of such things. It made his stomach turn and his instincts twitch with the need to protect Gamzee. The thought of the unstable Capricorn in the hands of such horrible beings – white as a lusus, caring and making you listen to them…

Oh, fuck it all. That wasn't anything anyone should go through, but please, just please, could his stupid pan stop with putting his own moirail in that imaginary situation. He hugged himself miserably.

Eridan had been focusing on Karkat for a while now before shuddering and letting out a nasty little noise, like a harsh bubbling. "….s'gonna kill me, s' Karrrrrr…." He warbled the last bit and Dirk held him tightly.

"He ain't going to kill you, I promise, you trust me…" He pulled Eridan close and Eridan's fins flared a bit before falling flat against his head, as he slumped against the human. Karkat stood wide eyed.

"Eridan. He thinks..he thinks I want to kill him?" He reached out a hand, but Dirk smacked it away without a second thought, or so it would seem.

"Well, no fucking duh. You tried to harvest him with those sickles of yours. No threat there. If he even noticed that, actually…Anyway, Roxy herself got combined with her alternates when the game ended, from what I can tell, but thankfully she doesn't remember that. But there are a few people who do. I know my alternate ecto-female daughter does, for instance. Anyone who went grimdark does."

"Fucking thank you for being so reassuring. And a genuine thank you for not bringing Feferi into it. She actually talked to them without effect, you know? Somehow?"

"Well, if I was her, I wouldn't want to see my ex in pain, no matter if I was their ex. Besides, from what I know, they were childhood friends, and she….she was looking for him. She's worried about him." Dirk sighed. "She, Nepeta and Roxy became really good friends after the game. And since I'm her moirail, we do hang out more often than not, alright?" Dirk sighed.

"Your moirail roped you into a bullshit sleepover."

"Yeah, she did. Shut up. We watched your troll Sailor Moon shit." Eridan was peering over his shoulder at Karkat, once more with little if any recognition. "Feferi doesn't need to see this. She's a nice person."

"If it gets too bad, we need to call her in. She speaks horrorterror. She was, after all, fucking raised by one, you pulsating brainfuck!" Karkat glared. "I just love how sensitive of Feferi's feelings we are being here. She was so fucking totally the only friend Eridan had. It's not like me and him were friends of any nature." He snarled at Dirk, and Eridan blinked again.

Dirk raised an eyebrow. "And look how well you took this."

"Shut the fuck up! Eridan – do you know how much of his bullshit I put up with over the years? I taught him how to woo Vriska in pitch, I fucking held his hand during Troll 50 First Dates, and I brought him ice cream when he was unhappy, I listened to him and blew up Vriska's computer for him! I…I…" Karkat glared at Dirk. "Eridan is my friend, whether I like it or not! And whether you do either—"

"Shut up." Dirk carded a hand through Eridan's hair. "If he was your friend, why the fuck do you let them all talk like that at the gatherings?"

Karkat blinked, and scowled. "Oh, get the fuck off your damn high hoofbeast, Strider! Just tell me how to fucking fix this!"

"….I don't know if you can. Or if I can. We need to know how long he was there before we attempt any shit at all. So message Rose already, because as soon as he realises he doesn't know me and that I'm not what he thinks I am, he's going to flip out and try and stop people from killing him. I believe you went through that carnival of bullshit already."

- carcinoGeneticist [CG] opened memo FUCKING FOUND HIM -

CG banned CC from responding to the memo!

CG: OKAY, SO FOR EVERYONE'S INFORMATION DIRK FOUND ERIDAN. WHOOP DE FUCKING DO. WELL ACTUALLY, NOT SO MUCH WHOOP DE DOO BECAUSE THIS IS BAD. THIS IS VERY BAD. LIKE ACTUALLY THREATENING TO A LOT OF HAPPINESS BAD

turntechGodhead [TG] responded to memo!

TG: so thats where dirk went good to know tell him congrats on not being swallowed by a sea monster

timaeusTestified [TT] responded to memo!

TT: I'm right here, you know. And this does not look like contacting Rose to me. It looks like opening a memo to whine, as always.

CG: SHUT THE FUCK UP. I'M TRYING TO GET EVERYONE'S OPINION. STOP MAKING FACES AT ME ACROSS THE ROOM.

CG: WHAT IS IT WITH YOUR BLOODLINE AND ACTING LIKE WIGGLERS WHENEVER SOMETHING SERIOUS CROPS UP.

TG: wow is this serious

TG: you two need to tone down the black flirting there are children present

CG: WHAT THE FUCK.

CG: THIS IS NOT BLACK FLIRTING, THIS IS TRYING TO AVERT A BIGGER CRISIS THAN THIS ALREADY IS BECAUSE CERTAIN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FUCKED UP BY HORRORTERRORS.

TG: children i repeat

TG: wait i thought that all the horrorterrors were gone from this place

TG: are we going to be attacked by the weird horrible things again

TG: mayday mayday lalonde where are you

tentacleTherapist [TT2] responded to memo!

TT2: Dave, I appreciate you sending me the link, but…

TT2: Oh. I see, so you found Eridan? What does this have to do with the Eldritch Gods?

CG: PLEASE DON'T CALL THEM GODS AT THE MOMENT. THIS IS NOT THE TIME.

TG: did you say time

CG: IF YOU MAKE ONE SINGLE SHITTY PUN I WILL LEVITATE FROM PURE WRITHING RAGE AND RIP YOUR SPLEEN FROM YOUR WOEFULLY INADEQUATELY SHELLED HUMAN BODY AND USE IT TO STRANGLE YOUR BREATH FROM YOUR THROAT

TG: man aspect puns are the best though

TT: Dude, can you tone it down for now? We have a real situation on our hands here.

TT: Okay, so there's a long explanation and a short one. For once, I think the short one will do. Eridan has been compromised.

TT2: What do the 'horrorterrors' have to do with this?

CG: TRY EVERY SINGLE THING. HE'S BEEN LEFT WITH THEM IN THE DREAMBUBBLES. AND HE'S SINGING.

TG: holy shit

TG: that is not good

TG: that is the opposite of good

TG: lalonde help me out here

TT2: It's very, very bad. Eridan was already somewhat unstable anyway. Has he tried to kill anyone yet?

TT: Karkat tried to kill him, does that count?

CG: WOULD YOU SHUT YOUR WINDHOLE ABOUT THAT ALREADY. I THOUGHT HE WAS A REAL ONE WEARING ERIDAN'S CARCASS. AND NO. HE THINKS WE WANT TO KILL HIM FOR SOME REASON.

TT2: Well, while you may not have noticed, a lot of your fellow trolls do tend to talk about punishing him for what he's done.

TG: travwolta excepted

TT2: Ah, that's a point. Cronus might be a good person to tell. He's one of the few of you who is genuinely fond of Eridan.

TT: I guess. They are kind of brothers, after all. In the same weird way as ectobiology.

CG: WHAT DO YOU MEAN? FOR FUCK'S SAKES, WOULD SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON ALREADY? DIRK ALREADY MADE A WEIRD REFERENCE TO IT AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON.

TG: gamzee is the only murderous troll to receive the magic of friendship and forgiveness

TG: even if fishtroll didnt hang out a lot of people blame him

TG: were talking magical beat ups from certain people

TG: they dont like him any more than they did before

CG: WELL, FUCK.

CG: THAT MAKES THINGS HARDER FOR US ALL.

TT2: Might I come over to visit Eridan? I remember a little of the language.

CG: SURE. WHATEVER. FUCK, I NEED TIME TO THINK.

TT: Hurry it up. He's started to sing again.

CG: OH, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. I CANNOT CATCH A FUCKING BREAK.


	3. I'm Here Again

Eridan was still sitting on the sofa on Dirk's lap, singing quietly. Dirk didn't actually seem to react to this, sitting still and still running a hand through Eridan's hair, but after watching him for a minute Karkat could see him shaking a bit. This probably reminded him of Roxy, really, even if Eridan seemed happy enough sat there. Dirk looked up from what he was doing to look in Karkat's direction with a hint of a smile.

"You gonna tell Cronus then?" he asked, casually, eyes barely discernible behind those god-awful shades of his, and Karkat shuddered. Eridan's dancestor wasn't exactly his favourite person, and talking to him had never been very high on Karkat's List Of Happy Things He Liked To Do. It was probably in the same freefalling place as Letting Jake Pick A Movie.

Dirk pulled his shades down a little so that Karkat could see he was rolling his eyes. "Aw, come off it, he can't be that bad…"

"The fucker hits on everyone, and thinks that Kankri is the Troll Sandy to his Troll Danny Zuko. I don't want to talk to him more than I have to." He sat down next to Dirk, looking at Eridan. "It sucks. This totally sucks, and…."

"There isn't a thing you can do, Vantas. Rose can, maybe—" Eridan stirred at the name, burrowing into Dirk's shoulder.

The room flickered slightly and Dirk turned his attention upwards, frowning. "Man, your lights are shitty! You need these replacing…." He looked down slowly, lips twitching. "I mean, can't you reach? I'll change them for you if you're completely helpless…." He grinned at Karkat. "Or, you know. If you really can't reach, I'll lift you up on my shoulders so you can."

Karkat gritted his teeth. "I do own such a fucking thing as a stepladder! And they aren't that shitty, you piece of pulsating douchefuckery. They're good quality!" He hissed the last part, threatening.

Eridan twitched at the noise, and stopped singing, instead flicking his fins up and down a little. Dirk sighed, petting his hair to calm the seadweller down.

"Least you're good for getting him to stop singing, but exactly how much good is frightening him going to do?" He moved Eridan so he was no longer on his lap but leaning against his side, starting to talk to him quietly with the same toning. "He isn't going to hurt you, I won't let him, I promise." Karkat looked sharply away, rubbing at his eyes. Fucking hell, why did Eridan have to like Dirk in this state? Why didn't he realise that Karkat wouldn't have hurt him? The most horrible bit was that it made sense to Karkat that Eridan would think he might. He'd threatened him before, and Eridan had always been ever so slightly scared, sometimes.

Eridan sat up more, and patted Dirk's face gently, fingers skittering over the glasses and humming the tune again, before stopping. "Missed you…" he said gently, almost quietly as he then settled down again, and Dirk sighed, hugging him tightly. This kid didn't deserve to have this happen, and he pulled up Pesterchum on his portable computer (It was an outdated piece of shit, but it worked). If Karkat wasn't going to try it, he would.

timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering corneredAlluring [CA]

TT: Hey.

CA: vwhat brings you around here chief?

CA: havwe you got that second movwie you vwere talking about? or you after something from me?

TT: Shut up and sit down. This is serious. This is all kinds of serious and I'm pretty damn sure you aren't going to like it due to personal reasons and the fact that everyone would think it was bad news. It sounds like good news.

TT: But it isn't.

CA: i havwe honestly no idea vwhat you're talking about.

TT: We found Eridan.

CA: holy shit.

CA: is he okay?

CA: can i talk to him? Is he evwen alivwe? i'm going to kill you if he's dead!

CA: fuck, ansvwer me! vwhere did you find him?

TT: I found him on the little rock thing near my sweet as shit house. I thought he was dead at first, but he was just letting me drag him ashore.

TT: And then he sung like a fucking horrorterror, Cronus. We're at Karkat's place, and I think you really need to see this for yourself.

CA: a horrorterror

CA: vwhat do you mean like a horrorterror vwhat the hell

TT: I mean that he's been with them somehow. He's been with them for fuck knows how long, and he's now afraid of Karkat, so fuck knows what they told him while he was there, but anyone who is actually from his group aside from Karkat might want to really kill him while he's in this state. Kanaya aside.

CA: are you telling me those fucking monstrosities screwved him up?

CA: FOR FUCKS SAKES

TT: Are you coming over or not?

CA: of fucking COURSE i'm coming ovwer

corneredAlluring [CA] stopped pestering timaeusTestified [TT]

Dirk looked over to Karkat. "Hey. Vantas. Incoming Cronus." Eridan frowned and blinked a few times, while the lights flickered again. Karkat turned to them with a horrified look on his face.

"Are you telling me he's coming here?" he hissed, before looking at Eridan with an odd look on his face as the room flickered again. "Hey, looks like he recognised the name that time."

Eridan seemed to be flicking his fins a little, and looked around, before Dirk patted his shoulder. "Yeah, he ain't here yet. He'll be here soon, alright?" he said softly, and Eridan burrowed his head back into his shoulder with an unhappy whine.

Karkat huffed and hunched up. "Why the fuck does he not think _Cronus_ will kill him?" he grumbled, and Dirk shrugged, handing his little computer to Eridan, who pulled up a few programs while Dirk was talking with Karkat.

"Maybe because Cronus wouldn't kill anything he had the slightest chance with, maybe because Cronus was nice to him after Eridan was dead because of murderous shenanigans? Who knows. He might freak out once he sees Cronus, after all." He glanced down, and stared at the screen of the computer.

"Eridan. What are you doing?" he asked, quietly, and Karkat frowned.

"What is he doing?" he asked, and Dirk shrugged carefully.

"Writing, it looks like. Might as well let him, he's got little else safe for him to do, after all." He looked down again and blinked.

"It's….Okay, that looks good. Can't deny it." He started reading over Eridan's shoulder and Karkat threw his hands up in the air.

"You're both idiots!" he growled, and Eridan wobbled upwards, and handed Dirk the computer vaguely before growling low at Karkat, ear fins flared out. Karkat swore very softly, backing up to bump against the table.

"Strider, make yourself at least one iota of the usefulness Fate in all her mistaken glory decided to put you on your Earth before booting you here, and tell him to calm down!" he hissed, and Eridan began to growl loudly again before Dirk lifted him up bodily, patting his fins gently until Eridan curled up in his arms again, contentedly.

"I think Fate just saved your ass, Crabby." He smirked and Karkat flipped him off, moving around to sit at his husktop again, glaring over at him as Eridan began to purr to Dirk.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] re-opened memo FUCKING FOUND HIM!

turntechGodhead [TG] responded to memo!

TG: is everything alright in horroterror seatroll world

CG: NOTE TO ALMOST FUCKING EVERYONE WHO MIGHT DO THIS.

CG: DO NOT, I REPEAT NOT, ANTAGONISE ERIDAN OR THREATEN DIRK IN HIS PRESENCE, BECAUSE IT COULD END BADLY FOR EVERYONE. UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE GROWLED AT, CLAWED AT, AND TURNED INTO A WOEFULLY FLESHY HEAP OF CORPSE, ROTTING GENTLY IN MY HIVE AND BECOMING A VISUAL REMINDER TO ALL FUCKING IDIOTS AFTERWARDS.

CG: OF COURSE, IF THAT IS YOUR FUCKED UP DESIRE, DO THAT, AND I WILL ENSURE YOUR MORONITY IS PREACHED TO THE WIDE AND ENDLESS SKIES AT YOUR FUNERAL, AND WATCH AS KANAYA AND DIRK STRIFE IN AN ATTEMPT TO WEIGHT THEIR VIEWS UPON ERIDAN'S FATE.

TG: why are you telling me this

CG: WHY THE FUCK DO YOU THINK. YOU LEFT….RECEPTACLES ALL OVER THE PLACE ON THE METEOR AND NEARLY CAUSED KANAYA A SMALL CATATONIC STATE AS WELL AS INCITING MY WELL DESERVED RAGE. FUCK YOU AND YOUR FOOD COLOURING.

CG: ALSO ESPECIALLY YOU, BECAUSE WHETHER YOU TWO ADMIT IT OR NOT YOU AND DIRK CARE FOR EACH OTHER, AND IF HE THROWS HIMSELF BETWEEN ERIDAN AND YOU HE WILL BE CONFLICTED.

CG: ERIDAN WOULD BE HORRIFIED IF HE HURT HIM, FROM WHAT I CAN TELL, AND THEN IF DIRK'S DEAD THERE IS NO ONE ERIDAN TRUSTS. I'M PRETTY SURE HE ISN'T GOING TO TRUST ROSE AFTER THE WHOLE EXPLODING LAPTOP SHIT.

TG: man, that sucks so much

TG: here i was planning to bait the fishtroll

TG: top of my list of things to do

TG: right below fuck over karkat as much as possible

TG: wow this glowing characterisation is blinding me so glad i have a pair of unironic shades

TG: i didn't know you cared for me so much kitkat i'm touched

TG: dont you have to buy me dinner first though ooh mr vantas

Karkat shut his husktop screen carefully, trying not to scream aloud. Why was Dave such an asshole? That glittering fuck needed to stop antagonising him before he snapped, because snapping involved growling and somebody wasn't good around growling. He almost wept from rage when the doorbell (he had truly never realised that piece of shit was this level of annoying) began to ring continuously, and marched forward, flinging the door open.

"WHAT? WHAT THE FUCK IS IT NOW, O UNIVERSE, YOU BITCH IN LEAGUE WITH THAT MALICIOUS FUCKER THAT IS KARMA?" he screamed, before he was shoved out of the way, and a blur in a white t-shirt rushed into his hive.

"Eridan? Eridan!" Cronus sat next to Dirk, flicking his fins at Eridan, who blinked and tilted his head before flicking his fins back, as Cronus crushed him into a hug.

"Oh, fuck, it's gonna be okay, alright?" the older troll said, and Karkat blinked. He hadn't really realised it….but it looked a hell of a lot like Cronus actually was worried for Eridan. Eridan snuggled into him like a wriggler with its lusus, and Dirk looked over at Cronus with a little nod, letting go of Eridan's shoulder to let him hug Cronus close.

At least now there was someone else Eridan trusted.


	4. Like Puzzle Pieces in Your Hand

Rose smoothed down the skirt of the dark dress that she had not worn in quite a while. It brought back haunting memories of the sweet song that cradled you like a lullaby. Shaking her head, she tapped lightly on the door, and listened, hearing footsteps, and the door opening to reveal an exhausted Karkat.

"Hello, Lalonde…." he said, wearily waving at her. She smiled at him, tilting her head to one side.

"Hello, Karkat. How is Eridan doing?" she asked, stepping past him, and uncovering the basket she had brought, containing a few blankets. "Kanaya was insistent I bring these to you as I was dropping by. She says that it's going to get colder." She handed him the basket and stepped into the other room, looking over at the sofa where Dirk had Eridan sat on his lap again, and Cronus could be heard from the nutrition block singing what sounded like a surprisingly good version of 'Devil In Disguise', although where _he _had heard it, she could only guess.

"Hey, Rosie," Dirk said softly, raising a finger to his lips, and she glanced down to see that Eridan was asleep, fins flicking as he slept.

"How often has he been falling asleep like that?" she asked, sitting next to Dirk as gently as she could. It was better to gain an idea of what Eridan was like, before trying to talk to him in the language he had obviously learned.

"He sleeps and wakes, but I thought it might be a better idea for him to be asleep at the moment. He just acts weird, but after Cronus arrived he got a lot calmer." Dirk sighed. "They started talking with that flicky fin thing, whatever the shit that is actually called, and then Cronus said that Eridan says he's finally found home again. He called it home, okay? No one should consider that home. No one. I don't even want to know how bad it got that he actually thought it was a good place to be."

Rose stared at the sleeping troll, noting how thin and worn he looked. "Dave was the one I talked to about what happened with me, and his term for it was rather concise. Headfuckery. They draw out the bad things in life you've been through, and the bad things you have done. They make you feel like you cannot be loved, and with me, they angered me so that I might seek revenge without a plan, and I believe that they fed off of my inner chaos. Although I had not done much considered bad, they soon convinced me that I had somehow been at fault, for not looking for her. With Eridan, they wished to keep him close, although for what reasons we may never know, and it looks like they convinced him of something. I don't know what, but I would guess it was something to do with how others perceive him - we both know how well that goes, after all."

She saw Eridan blinking a little, and began to sing the most soothing song she had learnt from the horrorterrors, the one that had lulled her into sleep now and then. Eridan crooned it back at her, much better at singing it than she was, and she could vaguely hear the higher notes of the song which a human would not be able to reach. Eridan soon fell asleep again, hand reaching out to hold Rose's sleeve as he did so.

"He seems to really care for the Elder Circle…" she whispered, and Dirk nodded.

"Good luck getting your sleeve back, by the way. He very much cares for them. He misses them, I think." He petted the purple streak gently, and Eridan chirped in his sleep. "So what's with the magical sleepy tune? If I didn't have an immunity to sleep sometimes…"

"If you didn't exist solely on energy drinks and snack foods, you mean. It's got a certain frequency that sends most humanoid life forms in a close vicinity to sleep, and besides that is laced usually with a little magic. Mine doesn't work with magic, but with Eridan's, I am unsure. Cronus seems unaffected, but that is probably due to him being in the kitchen."

The edge of Dirk's mouth quirked upwards. "Yes, lucky for him, although of course not for our ears. However…"

Rose looked over at Karkat, who had sat down to mess about with the computer and was now taking an impromptu nap on the keyboard. "Oh…" She began to smile. "Oh, dear. That was not my intent at all."

Dirk waved a hand. "Leave him. He could do with a nap after everything he's been through today. After all, imagine if this was Jade or John or even Dave who turned up to your house in this state, and you discovered everyone in your group might try and kill them if they saw them in this state. For them, I know it's unlikely…"

Rose felt a lump rise in her throat and a deep feeling of sadness as she looked down at the seatroll in Dirk's lap. "But for him, it isn't, is it? And they'd see it as justice for what he did anyway. Kanaya isn't as nasty as the others about it, seeing as she gets along with Gamzee, but…" She felt her eyes sting and looked away.

Cronus wandered through with a plate of something that smelled rather nice and looked to be fishy, looking down at Eridan and shaking his shoulder gently. "Hey, Eri. Vwake up nowv, c'mon."

Eridan blinked awake, looking at the plate in front of him with confusion until Cronus started flicking his fins, holding a hand out, and Eridan slid from Dirk's lap, letting go of Rose after a moment's hesitation to hold on to Cronus' arm as the older troll led him to the table, sitting down and holding onto Cronus with one hand as he ate carefully with the other. Dirk kept watching, and nudged Rose, pointing to Eridan.

"Now he's decided that you're one, okay? He didn't really seem to recognise you, which I guess is good. But….well, earlier, me and Cronus found out he'll go with Cronus as long as I'm watching, but he'll come back and sit with me if I look away. I guess it's a trust thing, but it's a start. If you look away he'll come back and sit with you and try and make sure you aren't upset." Dirk kept looking at Eridan as he said this, and Rose turned her attention to the seatroll as well.

"That's rather fascinating. He's keeping contact with us as well as Cronus…It might mean that he was physically close to the Elders. Have you found anything else out from him?"

Dirk thought for a minute. "No, I don't think so…Oh, wait. He was writing something on my computer before, something about 'the darkness', some shit like that. Like a poem or something."

Rose narrowed her eyes, still looking at Eridan. "Could you mail me a copy? I'd like to analyse it when I get back home, and see if it matches up with my memories of what the Elders are like. It could be useful when diagnosing what happened."

Dirk nodded slowly. "Soon as he's done with this, I'll see if I can get him back to sleep and mail you the copy. Are you going to be back soon?"

Rose blinked for a minute. "Of course. I can't really talk to him properly in this state, and until he starts recovering properly, anything I say could make him worse or send him back to square one. The writing is more likely some subconscious impulse to tell people what happened, after all, but we need to focus on healing him first."

"Good. I'll message everyone later, because I'm staying here with the kid for the moment." Dirk lowered his shades slightly as he said it.

"Oh, I would have suggested you do so anyway. Even if Cronus stays here, he needs one of us here, and I need to be away to analyse my data. Besides, someone needs to keep him calm around Karkat, and from what you were saying you did manage to do so."

Dirk nodded, letting his arms fall to the side as Cronus led Eridan back over, and sat down with Eridan next to him. Eridan reached out to hold on to Dirk's arm, looking over at Rose.

Sighing softly, she leant over. "I will be back soon, alright?" she asked, dipping her voice up and down like the Elder Gods would, and his fins went flat against his head.

"Soon?"

Cronus looked down at Eridan, surprised the other had even spoke, but Rose nodded, cupping Eridan's cheek like she might do to a young child, or like a horrorterror would to someone in their grasp. The action itself brought memories of phantom tentacles at her own face, and she struggled not to shudder.

"Soon, little one. I will return, I promise you…" She stood up, and started to walk to the door, trying not to let herself shake until the door was shut behind her.

timaeusTestified [TT2] started pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

TT2 sent file 'Eridan's Writing' [doc]

TT2: Feast your eyes on that little snippet, Rosie.

TT: Did he only just fall asleep?

TT2: Yeah, it's like having a giant toddler on my lap. You alright?

TT: Yes. A little shaken, admittedly, but I assure you I will get over it.

TT2: Good to hear. Eridan was a little restless after you left. It didn't help that Karkat's light bulbs keep flickering like they're about to die. Cronus woke up Karkat after a little while of covering him in marshmallows, so at least I was amused by the sight of Karkat trying to hit him with a spatula.

TT: Were any marshmallows saved?

TT2: It was a massacre.

TT: I see. Thank you for attempting to cheer me up, Dirk.

TT2: No problem, Rosie.

timaeusTestified [TT2] stopped pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]


	5. A Broken Mess

_The prince stood on the edge of life_

_and then they wwere there, the monsters. the old ones_

_he'd fallen a long time ago but noww he literally fell to them_

_they curled him close and taught him about colours fadin_

_colours no matter howw high wwere arranged in front of him and they all faded to wwhite and black_

_they said there was a princess wwho had been ripped from their arms by a thief in the night wwho wwore the crowwn of royalty_

_and they taught him to sing to them _

_and deep deep dowwn he could feel himself drowwnin as they sang_

'_tears are happiness' they tell him_

'_lovve is all wwe givve an ask for' they tell the prince an he loses wwhat he wwas_

_because lovve has always been doomed for him_

_he wwas arrogant an lost_

_they havve found him and remade him_

_they tell him as much_

_an he remembers wwhat the others did_

_an her_

_the one with the teeth and anger in her eyes the one he killed_

_he doesn't wwant to be left alone with his deep colour paintin the floor again_

_time an again he had been found and bitten apart by her_

_left alone an then_

_she looks at him wwith no remorse_

_like it was a mercy he has been allowwed to die_

_an he wwas alone after that_

_he remembers fingers scraping his gills raww and open_

_blue tinted gloww in his brain that makes him givve up_

_he remembers nails digging into him _

_an he remembers wwhat they all wwere like_

_they promise he wwill nevver be alone an then _

_he wwakes up on his old place an they are gone_

_he looks evverywwhere for them _

_theyre gone_

_an he drifts _

_an then he is found again_

Rose closed her husktop, shivering as she sits there, and Kanaya looked across and the feeling of the fear makes Rose flinch a little. Kanaya stared at her and then moved across to stand by her matesprit, hands folded and eyes wide with concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently, and Rose shook her head, trying not to tell her. She wasn't silly enough to think that telling everyone was the best thing to do.

"I…I'm sorry, Kanaya. I can't tell you yet." She felt long graceful arms wrap around her in a familiar hug and relaxed into it, letting Kanaya hug her close as she shivered again. "I'm afraid of what might have been caused by not looking out for everyone…"

She felt Kanaya freeze. "We know where everyone is except for one person, Rose…" she said slowly. "Do you mean what I think you're saying?"

Rose looked up at her. "We….found him, Kanaya. I mean…"

Kanaya looked down. "I knew he couldn't be alright. I apologise, Rose, I should have gone looking for him—"

Rose shook her head. "He is at Karkat's now…But it was worse than we thought, Kanaya." She pulled the other girl gently to sit on her lap, burying her nose for comfort in her shoulder blade. "He…fell through the bubbles somehow. They…the horrorterrors took him in. They took 'care' of him." She let Kanaya move so she was more comfortable and opened the husktop again, watching Kanaya's face go pale as she read through the little bit of writing.

"That….that's me….he…he's scared of me. He…." A translucent jade tear slid down her cheek. "Oh, oh no. No. I knew that he didn't cut those on a hunting mission!" She traced the words on-screen with a finger, and growled, wriggling from Rose's arms.

"I have something to talk to someone about, dearest. Be back soonest."

Vriska fell to the ground as Kanaya rubbed her stinging knuckles. "What the hell?" she shouted, eyes glaring up at the jadeblood stood over her with bared teeth and a growl rumbling in her throat.

"You deserved that!" she howled. "I knew it, when you two began to include me less often! You….how dare you? We all know he was stuck up and all the stuff he pulled even before the game, but his gills? _The things he needs to fucking breathe?!"_

She didn't care that the cerulean was gaping at her swearing, and simply glared until Vriska began to brush herself down.

"Soooooooo, you found Eridork? Why's he been snivelling to you when we're over?" Vriska stood up, glaring at Kanaya. "Tell him—"

"He hasn't. I just figured it out. Rose has been reading me some books about Earth, and the most recent had a section on abusive relationships-"

"Oh, bluh bluh. You and your sappy, soft little human. Give it a rest." Vriska sneered up at her. "So you haven't found him? He's probably crawling around the ocean and wallowing in his self-inflicted misery." She laughed, and Kanaya resisted the urge to punch her again.

Vriska began to walk off. Seriously, what a joke! Anyone would have realised it was her back in that time who'd left the marks on Eridan's gills. It was such a deliciously pitch thing in her eyes to do. Every time he wanted to go swimming, he couldn't, and she was the cause.

What the hell had she even meant by 'abusive'? The term twisted something in Vriska's stomach, and she gulped as she walked away. It was something she had heard sometimes when Terezi had been diligently following off-world court cases. Usually cases of…

Of caliginous romances taken too far. But Kanaya hadn't really even ever had a crush in spades. She didn't even know what she was talking about! Besides, it was hardly like Eridan was running away from her. He always came slithering back like the despicable worm he was when they were together. It was more pathetic than hateable, so she'd dropped him. Except for those fun few times in the dreambubbles, where it didn't really matter anyway.

She rolled her eyes. And Fussyfangs making such a big deal over it!

Dirk woke up, blinking, curled up uncomfortably on the sofa with a blanket pulled over him. Huddled against his side was a fast asleep Eridan, whose horns dug lightly into his shoulder and whose fins were wavering in his sleep. Someone had dabbed sopor on his face, and apparently it was helping him sleep, because he wasn't doing the twitching, maiming and whimpering actions Dirk had come to associate with daymares after Meenah fell asleep without a coon while visiting him and Dave.

"Good mornin', sleeping beauties!" Cronus whispered, sing-songing the words almost snarkily. A purple spatula-shaped bruise had bloomed overnight on his cheek, and Dirk couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Ah, go boil your head," Cronus said, lightheartedly. "Yeah, Vwantas Junior vwasn't exactly happy to vwake up all mallovwed. Eri vwoke up partvway through the night, an' I told him to go back to sleep until you vwoke up. Is he still asleep?"

Dirk rubbed his eyes with one hand. "How the hell are you this coherent this early?" he grumbled, and looked down when Eridan shifted, eyes sliding open and fins flattening as he yawned.

"Mornin'…" the smaller troll whispered, bleary eyed and blinking. Something about it reminded Dirk of a little kid, and this was what got him to manage a smile as he looked down.

"Mornin' right back at you. You sleep alright?" he asked, letting the pitch waver a little as a horrorterror might speak with a human vocal range. Eridan smiled at him and sat up, as Cronus waved from where he was.

"Aight. So. You doin' breakfast yet?"

Eridan went quiet, and looked up at Dirk as if asking for permission. Permission to go eat…Dirk nodded.

It still didn't strike him as fair that it had happened to this kid. What the hell even went through those monstrosities' brains to treat anyone like this? Eridan sloped into the nutrition block, keeping one hand on Cronus' arm as he did so, and a groaning followed by a 'fuckitall' alerted them to Karkat's finally waking up, followed by a shuffling of feet and Karkat appearing dressed in his usual attire.

"Gog. I hate you all. Why are you still here, Ampora Senior?"

Cronus turned around, frowning. "Man, you say that like I'm actually fuckin' old."

"You say that like you fucking aren't. Make me some coffee if you're using my kitchen." Karkat shuffled towards his husktop, opening it up. "I just hope nothing else goes wrong already…Well, fuck. I have Kanaya messages and Spiderbitch messages. Lucky me. Okay, so Rose got upset by whatever the fuck it was and Kanaya—"

Eridan was whimpering loudly, and Cronus had his hands over his dancestor's earfins. "Yo, Crabby, can you not mention the K vword? Eri's freakin'."

"Well, shit." Karkat turned around. "Calm him down, then. There's alchemized pop-tarts on top of the thermal hull."

A quiet munching a few minutes later indicated it would be safe to carry on.

"So, GA, let's say, has messaged saying she's sorry to hear what's happened to Eridan, and that it's probably best given the circumstances that she doesn't visit."

Dirk snorted. "Yeah, given the circumstances, I would say so. So what does Vriska say?"

"To check my phone. What the fuck, I don't even use the thing…" He turned to press a button on a little blinking machine with a purple plastic crab on the top of it. "What the fuck does she even want?"

"Heyyyyyyyy, Karcrabby! If you're done with whatever loser bullshit you're getting on with at the minute, I neeeeeeeed to talk to you about matters Dualoser!" The slightly whiny voice filled the apartment and a loud shriek filled the air, one that rose in pitch. The lights began flickering quickly as Vriska's voice filled the room, and then the darkness began to last longer.

Water. Water was everywhere, except not, and Karkat shouted in fear while Cronus looked around. Eridan clung to him, and still the noise left his mouth while Dirk stood where he was. They were….in a bubble. Underwater, with huge white lusii swimming around their (fragile-looking) bubble, snapping their teeth. And purple tears were sliding down Eridan's cheeks as he hid behind Cronus, who was trying to shush him and looking terrified. Dirk turned to Eridan.

"_Take us back!"_

Eridan shut his mouth, and like that, they were back in the living room, as the _beep _of the answering machine indicated the message had finished and the kettle boiled.

"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?" Karkat screeched, and Eridan wailed, earfins flat against his neck as if to cover his gills as his shoulders heaves and the same purple tears trickled down his cheeks. Dirk moved over quickly to cradle him, to tell him it was all right – just as Cronus was doing- in soft, lilting tones, before turning to Karkat.

"Looks like you have a couple of questions to ask Spiderbitch."


End file.
